The Holiday
by AslansHow24
Summary: Ginny Weasley needs a break from England and from the man who broke her heart, Amber Senecal needs to get away from the stress of her life in L.A. the two meet over a website to exchange houses for two weeks for the Christmas Holidays. rated T for some adult content and mention of sex. (there will be no actual sexual content, I promise)
1. Chapter 1

**The Holiday**

**Summary: to all my fans, I am sorry that I haven't written any updates in a while. I am trying to get over a really bad break up. My boyfriend decided to spend some 'quality' time with my best friend this summer and at the end of the summer decided to dump me for her. I thought that my predicament was a lot like Amanda and Iris in The Holiday, so I am writing a Harry Potter version of The Holiday, with myself as the character from L.A. Hope you like it.**

Ginny Weasley sighed heavily. There he was, standing, so perfect, on the stairs of the ministry atrium. He was talking to her Dean Thomas and the Minister of magic. He glanced her way and smiled. She walked over to the bar and grabbed a drink. Lavender Brown raised an eyebrow as Ginny gulped the drink down. She turned and saw him and sighed as well.

"Oh, Harry. Don't tell me you're still…" She began

"No, no, no, that's over. Very over" Ginny said quickly, but Lavender was not convinced. She set her glass down.

**"**What's the story with you two anyway? You were shagging him, weren't you?" She asked. Ginny's cheeks turned pink. Trust Lavender to bring something like that up. She sighed again.

**"**More importantly, l was in love with him, truth be known" She said, sighing. Lavender nodded.

"You two had chemistry from the moment you met" She reminisced. She turned to Ginny. "Then you found out about him and Luna, right?"

**"**Which is when l stopped shagging him" Ginny said, nodding. Lavender frowned.

**"**But l always see you two together. He cheated on you, but you stayed friends?" She asked. Ginny looked at the ground.

"I was in love and I guess I thought…it doesn't matter now anyway"

**"**Did he ever actually tell you that he loved you back?" Lavender asked. Ginny nodded.

"Yes" She replied. "Several times, the first being when he went off to search for those horcruxes" Lavender sighed.

"You know, Ginny, when you catch your guy with another woman...you're not supposed to stay friends with him. You're supposed to never talk to the prick again. You're supposed to throw things at him, scream, and call him names" Lavender looked back at Harry. "They always know just how to get us, don't they? He knows whenever he wants back in your life…" Just then Parvati, Lavender and Ginny's friend strolled up to them.

"Mind if I borrow Lav, for a moment Gin?" She asked.

"Sure Pav" Ginny replied.

She turned back to the bar to get another drink.

**"**Okay, l've got a question for you" Ginny froze at the sound of his voice from behind her. "What's it like for the ultra-smart muggle liaison officer to actually have a holiday?" Ginny turned around and smiled at the dark haired man.

"I don't completely have the holiday off," She reminded him. "I'm observing muggles, everyday, to help the ministry understand them better" She raised her glass to her lips and took a sip. "What about you, I didn't think Aurors had holidays?" Harry shrugged.

"Not normally, but there's not much to do right now" He said. "Plus, as the Head of the DMLE, I am entitled to a vacation" Ginny smirked.

"I'm sure" She said.

"Do you know why your brother quit?" Harry asked. "He was so excited to get into the program with me. Come to think of it, I haven't heard from him in a while" Ginny shook her head, not wanting to tell Harry what Ron had said to her right before he quit. She remembered the conversation vividly.

_"I'm quitting" Ron said firmly. Ginny looked up at her brother in surprise. _

_"What? But you love your job" She said, surprised. Ron sighed and plopped down on the couch. _

_"Harry's my boss now" Ron replied, "and I can't look at him without wanting to punch him in the face for what he did to you" Ginny sighed._

_"You don't have to destroy your career for me, you know" She said softly. _

_"I know" Ron replied, "But George has asked me to become his partner in the joke shop, now that Valerie left, and I've agreed. It will allow me to spend more time with Rose and Hugo, anyway" Ginny nodded. _

_"I understand" She said._

Ginny was jolted back to the present when The Minister of Magic used a sonorous so that everyone could hear him.

"Everyone, can l have your attention, please? Just a couple of minutes. Thank you" Ginny turned to Harry, but he was gone. "Well, first of all, a very happy Christmas to every one of you. l have one rather important announcement. May l introduce the newly engaged Luna Lovegood...and Harry Potter!" Ginny felt her stomach sink as she stared at the two, holding hands. Luna was showing off her ring. Ginny set her glass down and walked out of the atrium, tears in her eyes. Once she was outside the premises, she apparated to her small cottage in Surrey. She called Burrow Cottage, after her parents' home that was destroyed during the war.

Meanwhile, in LA, California, Another young couple was having an argument.

A shoe came flying within inches of Tyler's head.

"Look, may l just say again...that l did not sleep with her?" Tyler pleaded. Amber glared at him.

"Right, because my best friend just happened to be in the same hotel room at the same time that you were!" She snapped.

"A bunch of us went to Las Vegas. We shared rooms to lower the cost" Tyler replied. Amber sighed.

"Then why didn't she share with another girl?" Amber asked. Tyler hesitated.

**"**My best friend, Ty?" Amber asked in disbelief. Tears filled the corners of her eyes as she glared at him. "This is why l knew we were smart never to get married. l told you never to get rid of your house. Somewhere inside l knew this about you" Tyler sighed.

**"**First of all, can you please calm down? Because l did not sleep with her. Secondly, we've had problems for over a year. And l know you don't want to deal with that, but we have" Tyler said. Amber shook her head in disbelief.

**"**Oh, l am well aware we've had problems for the last year. lf l work a little bit too much, l never stop hearing about it. But if you work too much, maestro...-...it's for the sake of your music" She handed him a stack of sheet music and he glanced at her.

''If'' you work too much?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow. "Amber, you published 75 books this year. You've written ten novels of your own, you've appeared on two talk shows and you sleep with your cellphone. And I'm not going to have a conversation about sex...because l can't remember the last time we did it"

"Oh come one Ty, no one has time for sex" Amber replied.

**"**That's not entirely true" Amber gasped.

**"**That's it! You absolutely slept with her! Seriously, you have to get out. Oh, God. You know what l really think, Tyler? I don't think you ever really loved me. You loved the idea of you and me, but not so much me. Not me, not really" Amber said, walking down the stairs. Tyler followed her.

**"**Look, l did the best l could. Is anybody good enough for that job?" Amber pushed Ty out of the house.

"I will send you your things" She slammed the door in his face.

"Is this a bad time?" Amber's editor asked, walking into the room.

"No, I'm just having a bad day is all" Amber said. "What's up?"

**"**Ben needs you" Amber followed Sarah into the publishing office in her house. Ben handed her a manuscript.

"It's the sequel to Revenge. It needs to be out my Christmas day" he told her.

"Is it completely edited?" Amber asked. Ben nodded. "Alright, let's send it to print"

"Don't you want to look it over?" Sarah asked.

"Nah," Amber said. "I trust you guys" She sighed. "What I really need is a vacation. I think we should take a few weeks off after the book prints. We can make sure the stores don't market them until Christmas day"

**"**Sure" Ben said.

"Sounds good to me" Sarah replied.

"Great" Amber said smiling.

After Ben and Sarah had gone, Amber began researching Google, for vacation spots.

**"**Okay, where do l wanna go? By myself at Christmas. By myself depressed at Christmas" She saw something and clicked on it. ''Vacation Rentals.'' l could do that. Hole up in a house somewhere. Disappear for a few weeks. I like that idea" She clicked on the country of England, because she wanted to be able to understand the language. Several listing popped up and she clicked one at random. ''Christmas in the country.'' ''A fairy-tale English cottage set in a tranquil country garden. Snuggle up by an old stone fireplace and enjoy a cup of cocoa. An enchanting oasis of tranquility in a quiet English hamlet...just 40 minutes from exciting London.'' Amber looked at the picture of the cottage. Even though she lived the life of luxury now, it would be nice to go back to simple for two weeks.

Ginny Weasley was drinking cocoa when a message blinked on her computer. Then two more times. She pulled up the window and read her messages.

**I'm interested... Renting your house. **

**I'm wondering if your house is available this Christmas. Because if it is, you could be a real lifesaver. **

**I know it's late to be asking...but if you're at all interested, please contact me.**

Ginny quickly wrote back a reply.

_I'm very interested, but the cottage is only available for home exchange._

**''Home exchange''? What is that?**

_''We switch houses, cars, everything. I haven't done it before, but friends have.'' _Ginny knew there was a chance that the person on the other end was a muggle, but as a muggle liaison officer, her house was primarily muggle. She didn't have any magic items, except for her wand, which would be going with her. _Where are you?_

"Please say somewhere far away" She whispered.

**L.A.**

Ginny gasped. She'd always wanted to go to LA.

_Never been there. Always wanted to go. I'm Ginny, by the way. I'm very normal. Neat freak. Healthy. Non-smoker. Single._

Ginny sighed as she wrote the last word.

**I'm Amber. Loner, loser and complicated wreck.**

"I guess I'm not the only one" Ginny said to herself.

**I must say...your house looks idyllic. Just what l need.**

_Really? Thanks. What does your place look like?_

**My place is nice, but it's a little bigger than yours.**

_Not hard to be_

**When can I come?**

_Tomorrow too soon?_

**Tomorrow's perfect.**

Ginny shut off her computer feeling satisfied. She should really let her brothers know that she was leaving. They always like to check up on her, especially Ron.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Holiday**

Amber had fallen asleep in the limo that was taking her to her new home for two weeks.

**"**Madam? Madam? Madam?" the limo driver prodded. Amber sat up blearily. "We're here" Amber looked out the window, but the cottage wasn't in sight.

**"**Okay. This can't be it" She muttered.

**"**No, it's just down that lane. But the thing is, I'll never be able to turn this around at the other end. Think you can make it from here?"

**"**Not in these heels" Amber said. She pulled her boots off and pulled some flats out of her smaller bag and put them on. She climbed out of the limo, grabbing her luggage, and began trudging down the lane.

Ginny Weasley stared up at the huge house in awe.

"Oh My Gosh" She said, giddy with excitement. This was going to be the best vacation ever.

At the cottage, Amber was unpacking all of her belongings. She liked the cottage, sometimes wishing she could back to the simple life she had before college. But she loved her job and it was so worth it.

Back in LA, Ginny was getting ready to watch a muggle film, and stared at the large set up.

"Oh, that's intense" Suddenly she heard a ringing sound and went over to the phone. "Oh, no. ''Gate''? Hello- Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" She said, after pressing some numbers and picking up the phone.

"Yeah, it's Rick. Amber?" A male voice said on the other end.

"No, I'm sorry. Amber's not here, I'm afraid. I'm trying to figure out how to open the gate" Ginny replied. Finally she got it and the gate opened, allowing Rick to drive up to the house. Ginny ran outside.

"I'm sorry. I'm new at the gate thing" Ginny said apologetically.

"No worried. I'm Rick. l'm a friend of Tyler" He said, introducing himself. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Tyler?" She asked.

"Amber's ex" Rick explained. Ginny nodded. "Know when she'll be back? Supposed to pick up things" Ginny frowned.

"Amber's in England, actually, on holiday. I'm staying here while she's away" She told him. "So you needed to...?"

"Pick up Tyler's laptop" Rick said, nodding. "He's a film composer and he needs the laptop for work"

"Would you mind coming back tomorrow? l just want to check this with Amber's assistant" Ginny asked.

"Sure" Rick replied.

"I'm Ginny, by the way. Ginny Weasley"

"Rick Hansen" He replied. A woman got out of the car and walked over to them. "And this is my Tanya. l mean, just Tanya. Not ''my'' Tanya" Ginny giggled a little.

"Hey. Are you ready?" Tanya asked. Rick nodded and they got back into the car.

"It was nice to meet you" Ginny said. Rick shot her a smile and took off.

Amber was snuggled up in bed asleep when there was a loud pounding on the door. She shot out of bed and turned on the light. The pounding continued, so she headed down the stairs.

"Who is it?" She called.

"lt's me. Hurry up. lt's freezing" A male voice called. Amber was very nervous now.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Ginny, open the door...or l swear I'm gonna take a leak all over your..." Amber quickly opened the door and stared into the eyes of a very cute, red headed young man. "You're not Ginny. Or if you are, I'm much drunker than l realized. I'm sorry. l wasn't expecting you"

"Well, l wasn't expecting you either" Amber said, eyeing the man up and down.

"Nevertheless, may l just?" He gestured to the house.

"Yeah. Of course. Sure. You had to- Yeah" She quickly opened the door wider and he entered.

"I'm Ron. Ginny' brother" He said, heading into the bathroom.

I'm Amber Senecal. I'm staying here" Amber replied. Ron emerged from the bathroom.

"So Ginny is- Where is-? Where is she?" Ron asked, nearly falling over.

"She didn't tell you?" Amber asked.

"She could have done...but as previously stated...I'm- l've just- l've been..." He seemed to be teetering. Amber took hold of his arm and led him to the couch

"She's in Los Angeles" Amber replied. Ron looked up at her.

"That's not possible. Ginny never goes anywhere" He replied.

"Well, we have that in common. No, she listed this cottage on a home-exchange website and l found it. We switched houses for two weeks. For the holiday. She's in L.A. at my house and I'm here" Amber replied.

"People actually do that?" Ron asked. Amber smiled. "She did ring me last night. l didn't get a chance to get back to her. l feel awful now"

"you okay?" Amber asked, as he leaned back against the couch.

"Yeah, I'm good. Look, I'm sorry about the intrusion. Although l may not appear it, l am in fact Ginny'...semi-respectable big brother. But on the rare. Or lately not-so-rare occasion...that l frequent the local pub...and get inordinately pissed, my little sister puts me up...so l don't get behind the wheel. Pathetic explanation, but unfortunately it's become a bit of a routine. So how's it going so far? l mean, up until l showed up and ruined your night" Ron asked.

"Well, it's not going so great" Amber replied.

"Don't you like it here?" Ron asked.

"No, it's not that. lt's just that...You know, I'm not quite myself right now" Amber replied.

"So, Amber...you're not married, are you?" Ron asked. Amber raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not" She said. Ron smiled.

"So is it horrible if l stay? l'll be gone before you even wake up. l promise you will never lay eyes on me again"

"what if I want to lay eyes on you again?" Amber asked, then blushed. She couldn't believe she said that to a total stranger. Ron smiled.

"I might be able to arrange that" he said. Amber, still blushing, stood up.

"Let me just get you a blanket"

"ln the cupboard, on top of the Scrabble. So why is it you aren't quite yourself at the moment?" Ron asked.

"Well, l just broke up with someone. Yesterday. And l guess what l was feeling...was that l didn't wanna be alone over the holidays. l thought that if l was somewhere else...l wouldn't realize l was alone. Then l got here and never felt more alone in my life. Big surprise. Bet you're glad you knocked on this door" Amber said, unsure of why she was telling him all this.

"l am, actually" Ron replied. Amber handed him the blanket. "Good night" Amber nodded and headed back up the stairs, as Ron settled down on the couch. She paused.

"Is the couch comfortable?" She asked. Ron looked up at her, surprised.

"It's okay" He said.

"You know, given that I'm in a bit of a personal crisis...and l find myself in a total stranger's home...in a town that l can't actually remember the name of...and considering that you showed up...and you're, like, insanely good-looking...and well, there's enough room for two on the bed and I am sure it would be much more comfortable than the couch" Amber bit her lip, wondering if he would say no. Ron hesitated for a moment.

"I move around a lot in my sleep" He warned.

"I'm sure I can handle it" Amber said smiling. She came fully down the stairs and extended a hand and he took it.

"You're very beautiful" He said. She blushed again and they walked up the stairs to get some much needed sleep.


End file.
